BootsnAll Travel Community

We've been away for nearly 7 months. We're currently on Flores (Indonesia), which is a really pretty island but...

I not sure how much longer I can cope with people only talking to me because they want my money. Or lying to me about buses, or giving me the wrong direction, or smoking in my face/over my meal anywhere.....

I think I've got to the stage where I'm tired, (I was cynical before I came away and that's only got worse), and jaded.

I think in the future I'll keep trips to six months.

Did you get to this point? Did it pass?

We have two more weeks in Indonesia and then two months in China before we go home - not sure I want to go to China now - boo!

I so need some sleep. Everything is so loud.

When people say 'where you from' I've taken to saying 'Sweet home Alabama' and when they say 'where you go' I seem to say 'there and back to see how far it is' and if I'm really tired I add 'have you been? is it far?'

Which they don't understand and they just offer a bright smile, and I feel guilty for being rude. But then they offer me their tour, or piece of cloth and I don't feel quite so bad.

See, Jaded.

Is it time to go home?

Have you taken a vacation yet? Some people settle down in one place for a couple weeks, somewhere low on the hustle scale, to take a break from the joys of travel.

I know what you're talking about. Flores is rough travel - I've been there.

I'm going to assume you're an English-speaking first-worlder for the purposes of my prescription. You need three solid days in Singapore. It's antiseptic, price-controlled, and boring. For me, it was just like home, after three mind-scrambling months in Indonesia. I spent the entire time in S'pore drinking Starbucks and hanging out in air-conditioned English-language megabookstores on Orchard Road. After that, I was a recharged superbackpacker again.

I get this quite a bit and it's generally from moving too fast through places, trying to see everything. Going from bus to hostel to taxi to bar etc

I don't know what your budget is, but maybe you need to check into a decent hotel, watch some TV and just relax. Try and meet up with some backpackers (if there are any on the island) and just have a chat.

Get your partner to do all the work for a week and then swop.

You need to stick it out, you're regret it if you miss China.

I felt like that in Nicaragua, about 4 months into my trip. Really wanted to go home. I just sat in my hostel room wondering what the hell I was doing there while my friends were getting careers.
For me, settling down somewhere fixed me. I volunteered there for two months, paid rent, did groceries, all the normal stuff, then got my groove back.
I agree with Felix, go somewhere easy for a while. I'm in uala Lumpur right now and for Asia it's very easy going. People speak english and I like the food. I'm gearing up for India!
Good luck whatever you decide.

Definatly go somewhere a recharge for a while. If you feeling jaded now and then go straight to China it'll just keep getting to you and you'll miss the beauty of the place. The culture in China can be very similar the complaints you have now plus a little bit more in the regional areas. And you'll probley hate it and not appreciate it unless you can get a bit of detox in before you get there.

I'm assuming your flying out of Bali rather than Flores so maybe get there a week or two early and play the 9-5 traveler and spend the whole time lying on a beach, and reading a book, even splurg and book in to a resort and get away from all the outside culture will probley help you detox from all the culture stresses.

You want to do that prier to going to China so you can truly enjoy it. And you will, you just have to be in the frame of mind to get past all the little things (and the are only little truly) that anoy you at the time but which will mean nothing when you think back on it in the future. Trust me I know how you feel and you will regret seeing China if you don't go or go in a crabbie frame of mind. So try and find a way to remove yourself from the things that are shitting you off and relax for a little while.

I'm not sure what kind of pace you've been maintaining, but I find I really need to take things slowly or I get burned out on long trips. If we push too hard, the trip turns into a nightmare and I just want to go home. Over time you figure out what kind of pace works for the long run, but that takes time. I would say, take a nice long break. Then make sure you take lots of smaller breaks along the way so you don't overextend yourself again.

Dharker, to throw another voice in here, but with little advice....I have felt this same way while on the raod. There are times when it just gets you down and you feel liked everyone is on the make. It's a like a marathoner hitting the wall.

To me, that point is the point where you find out what kind of traveller you are. YOu can cut your losses and head home, but I guarantee you are going to find a time where you regret that decision. You can continue on, and then maybe go the whole rest of the way in a foul mood and blow the opportunity to see the world from relaxed and open eyes.

I have found that the feeling will eventually pass. I haven't read the other's posts, but I bet at least some of them suggested locking yourself away for a couple of days and not interacting with anyone...Sort of to recharge the batteries....especially if you have been going at pace for a long period of time. I know that is hard to do when you are out on the road, you feel like you are wasting your time, but I think that the two recharge days are worth it for the rest of your trip.

Personally, I hope you don't pack it in...I know from bitter experience that a day after you are out of the pressure cooker, you think to yourself "Fuck, it wasn't THAT bad!" and get pissed off with yourself.

Good Luck Dharker.

D

quote:

Originally posted by Dharker:

Is it time to go home?

Nope. You'll kick yourself in the ass forever if you miss China.

But it IS time for a little self care, and tbe responses you've gotten so far are right on track. Go somewhere comfortable and kick back for a few days.

A few specifics that work for me:

- Go somewhere where you can communicate in your native language. Even when you speak another language well, it gets tiring to have to do it all the time.

- Go somewhere when the food isn't challenging. I love trying new cuisine, but when you're tired and grumpy is not the right time to discover what the natives think "club sandwich and fried potatoes" means.

- Go somewhere where you understand how things work. This can either be somewhere very Americanized (like Singapore) or an "exotic" country that you personally are very familiar with.

- Go somewhere where you don't have to deal with many people just to get by. Either a hotel with a restaurant, a guest house with meals, or a private room in a hostel with a decent food source in walking distance.

Bottom line, you need to decompress for a little while. When you start getting bored, you're ready to go again.

La

I think you should try what others have suggested here...go relax and get pampered in a resort or a english speaking city.

But I personally feel if you are really tired and don't really want to go to China.."DON'T". China is not going anywhere it will still be there for another time. Going to China or India when you are really tired might not be the best. Countries like them take more energy to travel in.

Maybe change your destination...how about a English speaking country ..New Zealand. Or go to a place where you were comfortable and loved it.

Nowadays, my trips are two months during summer holidays, so, even if I am a bit worn, I know the end won't be that far off.

However, when I did travel for months on end a couple of times, I too felt your way. I didn't have the luxury of jumping over to Singapore to relax in western style, but I found that staying put in one place where there were other travelers was what was needed to recharge my batteries.

If you do decide on Singapore, take a day trip to Palau Lubin or Ubin. It's one of Sing's islands with a population of under two hundred with a decent road and beautiful trees. DEFINITELY a place to recharge as you will not be swarmed by humans looking for something from you or just rushing to work.

Everyone has already said it, but I'm going to chime in and agree. "Take a vacation from your vacation"

I felt miserable in the middle of Zaire stuck on a riverboat that kept getting stuck on sandbars - so I hid in the first class airconditioned lounge and watched videos in English and Spanish with French subtitles until I felt better. It was the best I could do at that point, but it seemed to help and I kept travelling with a second wind.

And in Egypt after five months on the road, I felt tired of traveling so we went to a resort on the Red Sea for a few days and did the "Egyptian club med" style life for a bit. I felt refreshed, but I still went home at that point and felt it was the right thing to do.

I agree that Singapore might just be the thing - get a dose of easy living and then decide if you want to continue or if you really want to go home. Either way, it's your life and you should do what makes you happiest.

if all the things you have just said are bothering you. I really really reallllllly suggest you dont go to China. Honestly ive spent over a year there and you will hate your life if the thiongs that bother u now etc etc. etc

quote:

Originally posted by Sobe-A-Rush:
if all the things you have just said are bothering you. I really really reallllllly suggest you dont go to China. Honestly ive spent over a year there and you will hate your life if the thiongs that bother u now etc etc. etc

I second this ... China isn't really the ideal place to recharge from travel burnout. But that doesn't mean you should skp it. I might start by doing Hong Kong, Yangshuo and Yunnan, which are easy and backpackerish compared to the rest.

quote:

Originally posted by Felix:
I know what you're talking about. Flores is rough travel - I've been there.

I'm going to assume you're an English-speaking first-worlder for the purposes of my prescription. You need three solid days in Singapore. It's antiseptic, price-controlled, and boring. For me, it was just like home, after three mind-scrambling months in Indonesia. I spent the entire time in S'pore drinking Starbucks and hanging out in air-conditioned English-language megabookstores on Orchard Road. After that, I was a recharged superbackpacker again.

I second the Singapore suggestion. We (my kids and I) do exactly that! Hang out at the Borders bookshop on the corner of Orchard and Scott and drink frappuccinos at Starbucks.


Don't miss China!

We've all encountered that fatigue. The thing is, it takes about 2-4 weeks of having to be up and at work for 8am to realize how much better it was on the road.

I think Felix was right on with the Singapore idea. Everyone speaks English, you can eat at Taco Bell or Carl's Junior if you want, it's clean, easy, and a great place to decompress.

It's already been said but I'll say it again.

China is a difficult country if you already have travel fatigue...especially if you do not know the language.

Recharge your batteries in Tahiti or Singapore or Bali for a week or two or three or four. Rest up and meditate on why you wanted to travel in the first place.

Good luck and our thoughts are with you!

Thanks for all the advice. We've been staying on Komodo for the last three days, pretty much had the island to ourselves, other than the dragons of course.

Funnily enough we decided that we needed to take a break from the travelling; which is pretty much what everyone has suggested.

I would regret it if I missed out on going to China I've always wanted to go.

We've actually found a decent aircon hotel here, not in the guide book, we just saw it passing. It's a nice standard and it's amazing how aircon can help calm one down. It's twice our budget but hey, better that then rush off home.

We've also booked to do some diving here, which we love, and we found a cafe that does nice western food, so that's all we'll eat for the next few days - the local stuff can be really hard on your stomach.

Thanks again for all the advice

Good for you

Stay until you are bored...until the place starts to bug you. Nothin' like island fever, literally, to bring out the traveler in a boot!

When you catch yourself saying "I have just got to get off this fucking island" to yourself, then you are ready to continue onwards to China.